ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology
Antimicrobial Resistance and Natural Alternatives: In Vitro Efficacy of Hungarian Propolis Against Feline and Bovine Tritrichomonas foetus
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
- 2National Laboratory of Infectious Animal Diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance, Veterinary Public Health and Food Chain Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- 3Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical One Health challenge affecting both human and animal health. Tritrichomonas foetus, a protozoan parasite causing reproductive and gastrointestinal disorders in cattle and cats, presents a growing threat due to limited treatment options. While nitroimidazoles such as ronidazole remain the standard of care, their use is restricted in food-producing animals and associated with emerging resistance in feline strains. Propolis, a complex natural resin produced by bees, has demonstrated antimicrobial and antiparasitic activity in other protozoan infections. This in vitro study assessed the minimum lethal concentrations (MLC) of ethanolic propolis tincture from the Észak-Alföld region of Hungary against feline-and bovine-derived T. foetus strains, compared to four nitroimidazoles. Propolis showed promising activity, with an MLC of 1.25 mg/mL for feline isolates and 0.16 mg/mL for bovine isolates after 48 hours. Ronidazole demonstrated reduced efficacy against feline isolates (MLC 32 µg/mL), suggesting partial resistance, whereas bovine isolates remained susceptible (MLC 1 µg/mL). Our findings highlight propolis as a potential alternative treatment for T. foetus, particularly in cattle where nitroimidazole use is prohibited. Standardizing propolis tincture and conducting in vivo studies will be essential to translate these results into clinical applications. This study contributes to efforts to combat AMR and develop sustainable, natural therapeutic alternatives in veterinary medicine, aligning with One Health principles.
Keywords: Tritrichomonas foetus, Propolis, antimicrobial resistance, One Health, Feline trichomonosis, Bovine trichomoniasis, natural antimicrobials
Received: 27 May 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kerek, Yurt, Szabó, Tuska-Szalay Dr. and Jerzsele. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Adam Kerek, kerek.adam@univet.hu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.